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An important study was done by Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes in 1978 that found that most accomplished women in the 1970’s felt they weren’t smart and had fooled anyone who thought they were. The women in the study attributed their promotions to luck, timing, and faulty judgments by decision makers. Some of these women thought they were intelligent, yet they were still hesitant to express their opinions and ideas. Researchers labeled this “the imposter syndrome”.

On one end of the spectrum, women struggled to speak up. On the other end, instead of acting passively these women became overly aggressive like Meryl Streep’s character in The Devil Wears Prada. No matter where these women fell in the spectrum until the mid1980’s, the prevailing factor was a damaging lack of confidence.

The definition of the imposter syndrome is when people feel inauthentic in their role. They feel they don’t feel deserve recognition or more compensation. The consequences of believing you are an imposter are many, including not speaking up and voicing opinions, not promoting yourself, not asking for raises, not exhibiting the type of behavior associated with leadership.

After the mid 1980’s, more women began to move into the corporate environment with the expectation of moving up the corporate ladder. The traditional male work environment caused many women to adopt inauthentic behavior because they felt they needed to be more like men to be successful. They often mimicked typical male leadership and management styles which was often not comfortable. They consistently second guessed themselves and didn't trust their own instincts about what it took to be successful in their roles.

I still see today that women expend a great deal of energy second guessing themselves. This is still, in part, the imposter syndrome and due to a lack of confidence in being authentic. It’s as if we believe that being true to ourselves will work against us and not move us forward in our careers. Why can't we just be real? Why can’t we be our authentic selves and act accordingly? Why don’t we believe that if we act authentically, we will be successful?

We need to develop a relationship with ourselves in order to be authentic and confident.

Leadership expert, Warren Bennis says,

Leadership is not something you can put on like a suit of clothes or generate by copying someone else. Leadership is about who you are genuinely.

We are each born with an internal compass, our innate sense that tells us if the direction we’re going is right or not. Sometimes we ignore this gut feeling and listen to others and get off track. The consequence is that we aren't comfortable in our own skin. We give up our personal power.

The first step to overcoming the imposter syndrome and developing our own authentic leadership style is for us to recognize the value we bring to an organization and understand that our talent and experience benefit the company in a variety of ways. One of the major issues I see with my coaching clients is the inability to understand the value they bring to the table. As a result, they are more likely to lack the confidence to communicate their value and take advantage of opportunities to showcase their skills. This has a negative impact on their career advancement.

How do we begin to develop this relationship with our authentic self?

1. Take the time to discover your unique value proposition.

How does your value benefit your organization? Identify specific business outcomes that are a direct or indirect result of your contributions.